Name Drawing

Artist Statement

In elementary school I loved working on art, I used all the materials there; wax, clothe, pencils, crayons, glitter glue, clay and paint. As I got older though I became more cautious about my art and I was worried that other people would think it was awful. I have now become more confident in my artwork and if I think it looks good that's all that counts. Even though I like making art, I never like going to art museums and just looking at the work (especially paintings). When I told an adult about this they said "you just haven't learned how to look at it yet." Which really didn't help me like looking at it.
What I really like about art is that while working on art it calms me and it's fun. I could work on a piece for hours and not get bored. I have always found clay fun and I really like working with it (I finally found out why). I love that if I mess up I'm able to start over by rolling the clay into a ball (even though I haven't done that very often). I also love to squish the clay in my hands. A piece that I think is really me is my clay Chameleon sculpture, even though it's actually about my dad. I love the way it turned out. I think that the sturdiness of it and the way that I formed it shows that it's mine. I also added a little detail where the eyes are looking in different directions, which I think is pretty funny.

Process Reflection #2

This week I wish I would have had more time. I have finally finished my symbolic portrait and I'm happy about how it came out. My group and I didn't work on the Mural this week because we all needed time for our independent projects. I'm also very happy that I've been able to start my independent project. I'm not going to make a vase (since I've never done pottery) so I'm just going to make some flowers out of clay. A challenge I had with making the flowers the first petals dried out and now I'm worried that the 2nd batch of flowers won't keep their shape. An idea I have to solve this problem is that I'm making clay molds that won't be baked but just dried out. Next week I hope to finish my flower, finish the mural and organize my finished work and blog.

Working on Independent project. Making the petals of a tulip.

Art 21 Video "Place"

The first Artist I learned about was Richard Serra. In his sculptures Richard Serra uses space to make the piece more interesting. When brainstorming for his pieces/coming up with ideas Richard Serra doesn't draw, but instead creates models. Even though he doesn't draw while brainstorming he draws in a journal to keep track of his projects. I think that his sculptures are pretty interesting. I like that they have a sort of interactive part in them since you can go in them. I also like that some of them create an allusion (somewhat) that there is an endless amount of space. I also like sculptures that use curves and I think that it would be fun to do. A peace that I really like is Richard Serra's Charlie Brown, since it's so tall and yet curved and seems to sort of defy gravity.

This is really a really interesting sculpture.

The second artist I learn about was Sally Mann. She is a photographer. In her photographs she doesn't have a hidden message she mainly just does it for fun. Sally Manns is also very spontaneous with her photos in the way that she never really knows what she'll take a picture of she just sees something around her and that's what she uses. For her photographs Sally Mann likes it when they are different and not totally perfect which makes the picture more interesting. I think that her work is interesting. I like photography and I think that the different types of cameras she uses (I think there were multiple) make the image different. I think that with some of her images she tries too hard to make them look imperfect that I can't really see what the object is (the dog bones).


The third artist I learned about was Pepn Osorio. In his installations Pepn Osorio likes to have contradictions, like something that doesn't really make much sense but yet if seen in a different way makes sense. I think that his work is interesting. I really like the house that he made because it had all of these small details, such as the little Ritz box on a table. I think that it would be really cool to make a little house.

Process Reflection #1

This week I think I accomplished a bit, but I wished I accomplished more. This week I worked a lot on my symbolic portrait and on the mural. With my symbolic portrait I have been bringing it home for extra time to work on it, but I was actually only able to work on it at home one day this week. A challenge with my symbolic portrait is that I made a rough sketch but now I have to transfer it to the final paper (I'm making scans and taping them to the paper then tracing it onto the final paper to solve this problem). I hope that over the long week end I'll have it mostly finished. On the murals I'm really proud that my group is almost done, there are just a few more little details that we need to fix. I hope that we'll finish it next week. Next week I also hope that I can start the independent project.

Working on Symbolic Portrait

Working on Mural project

Art 21 Video "Time"

The first artist I learned about was Martin Puryear who is a sculptor. He usually sculpts wood and stone. In Martin Puryears work he likes to make it look like it goes into space. He also likes to use the materials in a way that they might not naturally be. I mostly like his work. I find it really cool how he used multiple blocks of stone and combined them to make them look like (mostly) one piece. I also like that he uses materials in different ways than usual (such as using the stone to make a circular window). I think that it would be really cool to work with wood and working with stone would also be pretty cool (but I think it would be harder).
 









I like the piece to the left because of the smoothness and detail. I like all of the layers in the piece to the right.

The second artist I learned about was Vija Celmins. She is a painter. While creating her paintings she feels like she's "building" it instead of painting. In some of her more detailed work she ends up redoing it/painting over it multiple times and she's feels that having the different layers are like memory's in the painting. She also really wants the painting to draw peoples attention and make them lean forward and look into the painting. I like a lot of her work. Even though I find it a bit tedious to work on the same painting and redoing it multiple times, I really love all of the detail in her work. I also like the shadowing in her pieces.

(I want to add more to this)

Project Planning

I hope that during the next few weeks I will be able to work with clay, maybe even use a pottery wheel. My idea is to make a clay vase, if I have time I think it would also be cool if I could make some flowers (separately) out of clay. I also think it would be cool to glaze the vase, and flowers if I make them. If there isn't enough time in the term, can I come in and work on it?

Sketchbook Archeology

I remember that while making the cover of my sketchbook I didn't really know what to do. I was also worried that others might think that it looked stupid. I have really liked sketchbooks this year. It may have been annoying at times, though, if I was really rushed in finishing the required amount of spreads. I think that even thought the requirement was annoying I liked that I had a place to just work on stuff that came into my mind. When I look back at some of my spreads/pages I can tell if I was rushed/didn't spend much time on them and I'm disappointed with them. I think that working in the sketchbook has helped me organize my thoughts and has made me feel more confident as an artist. While working in the sketchbook I don't have to worry about what others might think because the sketchbook is for me and I can always close the cover if I get annoyed with a specific sketch.
Things that showed up more than once are:
- trees
- hills
- sky
- sun
- food
- animals
Themes that showed up more than once are:
- rainbows/colors
- seasons
- nature
- swirls
- my hobby's
Materials that I used more than once are:
- pencil
- watercolors
- colored pencil
- collage
- oil pastel
- highlighter
- charcoal

Initial reflection

I think that this course has gone very well for me. I think that over the course I have gotten more confident of my drawing skills and I'm better at drawing details. I also think that I have improved in brainstorming for projects. Another strength is working with clay, even though we started it towards the end of the term I've had a lot of fun with it and I want to work with it more. I think that a weakness I have is brainstorming too much. With the symbolic portrait it took me a week to draw the whole thing and now I'm going to re-draw it because the first one was just the rough draft. I hope that the final draft will be easier to draw now though. Another weakness I have is painting. When working on the murals I first draw what has to be painted and I put a lot of detail onto it but then when trying to paint it it doesn't turn out as well as I had hoped. I think that after the class is over I'll be thinking about when I'll be able to do art and be motivated to work on it. Even though I like art I sometimes can't get myself motivated to work on it. I'm not really sure how art will influence my life in the future, I think that it's fun and it might be like a hobby.

Art 21 Video "Ecology"

I watched the episode "ecology". The first Artist I learned about was Ursula von Rydingsvard. Her work includes mostly sculptures which are made out of cedar blocks. When she sculpts her sculptures she tries to make them convey emotions (like anger, agitation, humbleness, etc.). She also likes to use opposites in her sculpture (like making it look violent but deeper down still quiet/soft). I think that her work is pretty cool and I never knew how many different looks and styles wood can have. I also find it interesting, because there are different parts in each sculpture (like texture) and sometimes the wood actually looks like rock. I like sculpting and I think that it would be sort of cool to work with sculpting wood (even though it would probably be pretty difficult).

I like this piece a lot and it looks really cool. I'm wondering though how she got it to look gray and transparent.

The second artist I learned about was Robert Adams. He is a photographer. Most of his photographs are of landscapes. In his work the light from the sun plays a very important part. I feel like that his pictures mean different things (depending on what it's a picture of), but one of his books (Turning Back) is about deforestation and also how the spirit has been lost. In some of the pictures the little details that he sees give pictures different meanings. I think that his work is pretty interesting. I usually don't like black and white photos, because they sometimes seem a little boring and don't really give a message, but these are interesting because the pictures seem to be facing towards the sun. The sunlight makes it interesting because sometimes part of the picture is totally white which (I think) shows the intensity of the sun and it draws your attention. I like photography but I think that it sometimes is pretty hard to make an object that's completely boring look interesting.

I like this photo because the smoke is the darkest part so it stands out and looks like it doesn't really belong.

There were also 2 other artists, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle was one of them. I didn't really like his work as much because it had more to with sound/video which I don't find as interesting. The last artist was Mark Dion. I think that his artwork is pretty interesting, yet strange. He mostly works on instillation pieces, in which he likes he likes them to be like a "window into the past". He (sometimes) uses specific materials to give a deeper/ more complete meaning. I find it interesting because I love tiny little useless things, I think that it's cool that they can actually be put together to make something interesting. Also those types of artwork have so much detail that there's always something new to see. I also like how they moved a big tree that had fallen over and brought it over to a new building, that had previously been a hazardous waste dump, where it was the base of a garden.   

I like this installation because
of all the little things. -->
I like the second piece because it combines
nature into the city and is there (not only to
look cool) but also to teach people how
complex nature is.

Symbolic Clay Sculpture Portait

I'm choosing to make a Symbolic Clay Sculpture portrait of my dad. My dad is; smart, wise, adaptable and focused. An animal that represents my dad is a chameleon- they are adaptable, since they can change color and stay hidden in many different habitats. I want to make the chameleon hitting a target in the bulls-eye because my dad stays focused.

Symbolic Portrait of Amanda

Symbolic Portait Brainstorming

I chose my friend, Amanda. In the portrait I'm going to use symbols/pictures of things that we like to do (sort of like our friendship). The head of the Pink Panther since we like the movie; a smart car b/c we like smart cars; the silhouette of Nancy Drew b/c we like those computer games; a quote "that dingo ate my belly!" from a cooking show that we like; dance shoes b/c she likes to dance; a paper crane b/c she likes origami; a camera with photos coming out of it of both of us while we've been friends.

Visiting Artist: Hamlett Dobbins

I really like the first drawing in drawings from the rose tower. I like this piece because it looks like there's something written in the back but it's mostly covered. I also like that sort of star shape in the middle is sort of an optical illusion which draws your attention to it. I also that the color choice is simple with only different shades of black. It fits into the rest of his art from that section because they all have only a few colors but those colors are in many different shades. Also most of his work seems to have a focal point where you should focus.
A question that I want to ask Hamlett Dobbins is where he gets his inspiration/ what gave him the ideas for his artwork.
The answer to my question (which came up in the presentation) was that he was inspired by "odd"/different things (such as the houses and the floor) and experiences/moments that happened (but the whole story would never be in one painting)